News, Reviews- everything about stand up paddle surfing... get out and poach some!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Still More South Swell Stand Up Paddle Surf Photos...

Here's a few more from last week's south swell. Most of these photos are from low to mid-tide. This is a fast, curvy beach break wave- it's a tough one to stand up paddle because many of the waves look unmakeable... sometimes you've just got to go and hope you can get your legs moving fast enough to make sections. Check 'em out:

Photo: I remember this wave really well. I was late on this one and was basically dropping in sideways, hoping my fins and rail would hold and squirt me to the shoulder. Credit: Kylie K.

Photo: Somehow, everything held together and I was able to get a little pump off the bottom and get past this crumbly section... check out the southern bend in the shoulder. If this wave had more west in it, it would've closed out right there and I'd be done. Luckily, the bend gives you a little chance to work around it and get going down the line.

Photo: Sometimes, all I think about is working on one turn. Lately, it's been this one. The turn is a roundhouse cutback with the paddle to the inside of the turn. On a nice fat reef or point break, you've got lots of chances to work on your cutbacks. Here at the beach, we're stoked if we can wrap one good one in a session... and they've got to be slick, fast turns because the whole wave tends to close down on you pretty fast.

Photo: This is a really nice turn because everything's moving together and it's all going in the right direction. Check out shoulders, hips, arms and chin... all pulling through the turn and back into the whitewash. When you swing one of these with the paddle to the outside of the turn, the paddle tends to elevate up into the air through the turn. It reminds me of the Tall Flag squad the walks in front of the marching band at school- except in our case it's a paddle that waggling around up there.

Photo: Anyways, this is the turn I'm fixated on at the moment. I'm still working on finishing it out correctly. The appropriate period on the end of this cutback sentence is a little shwack off the oncoming whitewash... I'm having trouble getting back enough onto my tail to lift the nose and rebound off the soup. Practice, practice, practice...